Chapter 13

As promised, after the ceremony Striker, Ella, and Kelsey stopped at Mack’s house so Grace could show them the new tricks she’d taught Socks. The kid had a knack for teaching the dog to do anything. Either that, or the dog wanted to please his owner so much he’d do anything for her. Whatever the case, Grace had taught the dog over twenty different commands since she got him.

Once Grace ran through not only the dog’s new tricks but also all the other ones Socks knew, Mack managed to get Grace to leave the house again. Although he’d seemed a bit frustrated, Striker’s best friend never raised his voice. When Mack had first found out his now ex-wife was pregnant, Striker had thought his friend was crazy to want kids. Kids were noisy, expensive, and messy. They forced you to rearrange your whole life. Once you had kids, your life was over. Striker remembered telling Mack he’d rather be an uncle someday instead.

After Grace’s birth, and later after Mack’s divorce from his first wife, Striker’s opinion had only solidified. Often, he’d invite Mack over to watch a game or go for a drink and Mack would decline because of Grace.

Watching Mack and Jessie with Grace this summer changed something inside him. He no longer wanted to just be the cool uncle to whatever kids his sister and Tony had. He wanted a family. And he wanted it with Ella.

Striker’s thirty days were slipping by. His instincts said he’d proven himself to her. She spent time with him. Took his calls. Made love to him. Yeah, in every way she acted as if they’d still be together once the month ended.

Don’t get too confident. He hated when his brain weighed in on the matter. You didn’t have to love someone to have sex with them. He knew it firsthand. Except for Ella, he hadn’t loved any of the women he’d slept with in the past. Cared about some, sure. Liked some, yeah. But not loved. And just because she’d spent the night didn’t mean she wouldn’t kick his sorry ass aside in another week.

Even if she kept seeing him after the month ended, she might be gone come January anyway. Having her live on the other side of the Atlantic for a year would be torture. He couldn’t tell her not to accept the position. As much as he’d love to, it wasn’t his decision to make. The fact that she was considering it wouldn’t sting so bad if she told him she loved him. He kept insisting to himself that her silence didn’t mean anything, that she was waiting for some reason. A bizarre reason only she knew. His gut kept telling him something else. Each time it did, he considered confronting her, asking her straight out how she felt, but then he’d think rationally again, and remember she wouldn’t have even given him an hour if she didn’t care, never mind an entire month.

“I thought you’d be here sooner,” Cat said when he sat down next to her. Since Tony was the best man and still busy taking pictures with the wedding party, she was alone. “You didn’t take Kelsey home, did you?”

“No, we stopped at Mack’s for a bit. Grace wanted to show us some new tricks she taught Socks. Seriously, I should hire her to teach Elvis a few things.” Striker checked out the surroundings. He’d never been inside the Harbor House, an elegant establishment in Boston, but he’d driven by it.

“Where are Kelsey and Ella? Did you lose them?”

Where did she think they were? In his back pocket? “Restroom. Never understood why you women can’t handle it alone. Maybe if you did, you wouldn’t take so long.”

Cat didn’t answer. Instead, she checked over her shoulder before pulling her chair closer to his. “So, how it’d go last night after the game? Ella is still talking to you. I’m guessing you didn’t do anything stupid. Did she spend the night?”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Trina.” He folded his hands together on the table and waited for his sister’s next comment.

“Knock it off. I’m giving you a hard time and you know it. You look comfortable together. Like before. Does it mean things are back to the way they were?”

Striker shrugged. “Maybe.”

“You’re not very helpful.”

How could he be helpful when he didn’t know for sure? “Ask Ella. She’s your friend, remember?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“And I’m not sharing what she said on the matter.”

His sister wouldn’t share that, but maybe she’d share something else. “Trina, has Ella talked to you about the position she got offered?”

“At the dance studio when Maryann leaves?”

“No.” He’d forgotten about Maryann’s offer. “The one in France. Teaching over there for a year.”

Cat shook her head and pulled her chair back to its original spot. “No clue what you’re talking about. She never told me about the possibility. The only position she mentioned was the one at Prism.”

Ella and Kelsey, as well as Jessie, Mack, and Grace arrived at the table before he managed any other questions. But he thought them. Cat and Ella shared everything with each other. Or at least it had always appeared that way. Why hadn’t she told Cat about the offer? Did she not want her friends pressuring her into a certain decision? He didn’t see his sister or Kelsey pressuring her, but he’d been wrong about stuff before. He could be wrong now.

“On our way through the lobby, I saw two limos pull up. I think it’s the wedding party,” Ella said, taking the seat next to him.

Turned out Ella was right. Soon Tony’s voice filled the room as he introduced Sean and Mia O’Brien to the guests. Applause and a few whistles filled the room and continued until Sean and Mia took their seats. He’d known Sean his entire life. Although a couple grades behind Sean, he’d gone to school with him and played sports with him. He’d never seen the guy look happier. And Striker understood why. He’d married the woman he loved.

With the happy couple in attendance, the wait staff began serving each table, and hundreds of conversations started up. Around Striker’s table it was no different, except for Kelsey. Unlike everyone else, she remained quiet. And he noticed she seemed to be looking for someone.

“Are they leaving for their honeymoon tonight or in the morning?” Ella asked.

No one answered until the waiter setting out salads walked away. “They’re not going until after Christmas,” Tony answered. “Mia doesn’t want to miss any classes.”

“Classes? She’s in school?” Ella asked.

Tony nodded. “She decided to finish the degree she started and went back to Harvard.”

Striker remembered Ella telling him Mia had gone to Harvard for two years before leaving and going back to acting full-time.

“I didn’t know she went back. Is she studying history again?” Kelsey asked, finally joining the conversation, although her attention seemed more focused on the guests around them.

“Yeah, and comparative literature.” Tony answered. “I’m not sure what that is. You’ll have to ask her.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Kelsey whisper to Ella.

“No, not yet,” Ella answered, her voice barely reaching him.

He guessed they were talking about Drew. It wasn’t his business, but he wondered what Kelsey’s problem was with him. Ella had said Kelsey didn’t want to come alone today because he’d be here. He hadn’t seen the guy himself, but with so many at the church and now here he wasn’t surprised. He hadn’t even seen his parents since leaving the church. If Drew were here, he’d have to search hard to find her.

***

Drew had started looking for her the moment he walked inside St. Mark’s church. However, he hadn’t seen her until she’d turned around and looked his way. She’d been sandwiched between her friends Ella Bridge and Catrina, Striker’s younger sister. The only guy with them had been Striker. She hadn’t smiled or waved. If she hadn’t maintained eye contact for so long, he would’ve thought she hadn’t even seen him. After the ceremony, he’d followed everyone outside, hoping to catch her before she left for the reception. Instead, people surrounded him. Some wanted to catch up, while others wanted photos with him. Most days he didn’t mind people asking, but, damn, today it’d sucked. While he’d been getting slaps on the back from old friends and photos snapped, she’d snuck away.

By the time he made it to the Harbor House, the room was full. Judging by the scene around him, not everyone at the reception had made the church. Probably a good thing, since he didn’t think St. Mark’s could fit all the guests present tonight.

He continued his visual search throughout much of dinner. Over four hundred guests made it a pointless endeavor. Eventually, he gave up and got involved with the conversations around him. But dinner was over, Sean and Mia had shared their first dance, and now Mia and her father were almost done with their father/daughter dance. Once Sean and his mom had their special moment on the dance floor, the guests would start to move around more. Then he could get up and continue his search. He wouldn’t limit it to only Kelsey this time. She’d been with friends at the wedding. He’d look for Cat, Ella, and their companions, too. If he found them, he might find Kelsey. And finding Tony or Striker, who’d be with the two women, would be easier than locating Kelsey. Both were about his height; Striker might even be an inch or so taller.

“How ya feeling about tomorrow’s game?” John, his younger brother, asked after he ended a conversation with their father.

The team played its season home opener the following night. “Don’t expect it to be a problem.” The previous season they’d crushed the team they were playing tomorrow both times they’d faced them. While past wins didn’t guarantee them another on Sunday, he and the rest of the team were confident they’d kill ’em again.

John asked him a few more questions about the upcoming game before his date started giving him a hard time. She complained she heard enough about football from the guys at work and didn’t want to hear about it now. Honestly, Drew didn’t mind. With football off the table, town politics took over instead. Not living in North Salem, he had nothing to add.

When Sean and his mom’s dance ended, Drew excused himself and left the table. He found Tony and Cat first. They’d joined several other guests on the dance floor. Striker had told him they’d married, but he’d thought the dude was joking around. Even after Striker insisted it was true he’d remained skeptical. He’d asked his mom about it. She’d confirmed it for him, before hinting at when he might get married and start giving her grandchildren, a topic she brought up every few months.

With Tony and Cat located, Drew checked out the other couples on the dance floor. Many he recognized. A few surprised him. Obviously, he’d missed a lot by staying away from town so much.

His eyes fell on Jessie and Mack next. Although not as close to Jessie as Ella and Cat, Kelsey and Jessie were good friends. Or at least they had been back in high school. At the moment, Jessie was another dead end, because she and Mack stood talking to Sean’s sister Charlie and her husband.

Drew walked past the bar, careful to avoid Nikki Reese’s table. They’d met once before at some charity event, and today after the ceremony she’d stopped him outside the church. During their short conversation, some magazine reporter had asked them to pose for a picture. After the cameraman and reporter left, Nikki pinched his ass and told him to find her later. She might be smokin’ hot, but he’d heard enough about her through a teammate who’d dated her to know to keep his distance.

Mrs. Mitchell waved him over as he approached her table. About to stop and say hello, he spotted Kelsey several tables away. Ella and Striker sat next to her. And, like in the church, she appeared to be alone despite telling him she had boyfriend. He hadn’t fully believed her at the restaurant. There’d been something in her tone, and she hadn’t looked at him when she said it. What he’d seen today only further made him think she’d lied to him.

“Hi, Mrs. Mitchell. I just saw someone I need to talk to. I’ll swing back by later.” He hated being rude to the old widow, but with Kelsey spotted he didn’t want to lose her in the crowd again.

“Make sure you do, Drew,” Mrs. Mitchell answered. “You’ve been away too long.”

He’d almost reached her table when a man he didn’t recognize stopped and spoke to her. A moment later she stood, and Drew got the wind knocked out of him. He’d forgotten what a knockout she’d become. The day at Masterson’s she’d been wearing black pants and loose-fitting Masterson’s polo shirt, the standard uniform for everyone at the restaurant. Tonight, she had on some clingy cocktail dress that reminded him quite well she was no longer the eleven-year-old girl he’d helped with her jump shot.

Drew watched as the two of them headed toward the dance floor. His next move was a no-brainer. At some point, Kelsey would return to her seat and friends. If he joined Ella and Striker before she came back, he’d eliminate the possibility of her leaving before they spoke.

Drew reached the table at the same time as Cat and Tony. “I heard you got married. Congratulations,” he said, clapping Tony on the back.

“Thanks,” Tony answered, pulling out a chair for Cat.

“Mind if I join you?”

He didn’t imagine the look Cat and Ella exchanged. “Of course not. We’ve got an empty seat at our table anyway, so you’re not taking anyone’s place,” Ella answered.

Both Ella and Cat glanced at the dance floor then at each other again. He caught Ella’s slight shrug before he focused on the people around the table.

“How’s the team doing this year?” Drew asked.

“Great so far. Haven’t lost a game. Next Friday’s gonna be tough, though,” Striker said. “Marblehead’s got a good team this year. They finally appointed a new head coach.”

While Tony, Striker, and Drew discussed this year’s high school football team, Cat switched chairs so she sat next to Ella. From across the table he couldn’t hear a single word the two women said, but since they glanced his way at least once and then toward the dance floor, he guessed it involved him and Kelsey.

The final notes of the slow ballad flowed from the speakers. Several couples left the dance floor as others moved onto it. The drumbeat to a faster song started and he watched for Kelsey. Would she and the mystery dude stay out there or would she come back?

“Good, Kelsey and Dakota are coming back,” Ella said, spotting Kelsey before him.

He spotted them a second later and again wondered how he could’ve forgotten how much she’d changed.

The tall dude next to her spoke, and Kelsey laughed then nudged his arm with her elbow. Was this the boyfriend? The body language between the two of them said no, but what did he know?

Kelsey and the guy Ella called Dakota kept walking toward them. When someone at another table called out, Dakota stopped, but Kelsey said something and kept on walking. He knew the moment she noticed him sitting with her friends.

She stopped smack behind two seats. Her eyes grew wide before looking to her left in the direction of an exit. Then they swung back and met his. Drew couldn’t resist smiling.